


I'll Be Home For Christmas

by McKay



Category: Castle
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-23
Updated: 2009-12-23
Packaged: 2017-10-05 03:05:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/37138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/McKay/pseuds/McKay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kate really isn't enthusiastic about Christmas, despite Castle's best efforts to shower her with yuletide cheer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Be Home For Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ReaperWriter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReaperWriter/gifts).



It started during the first week of December when Castle announced that he had three tickets to see The Nutcracker ballet and invited Kate to go with him and Alexis.

"No."

"Don't make me go with my mother. She'll spend the whole time comparing the packages of all the male dancers, and she won't turn off her cell phone in case her agent calls."

Kate felt a twinge of sympathy at that, but she still refused.

During the second week of December, it was a reading of _A Christmas Carol_, which Castle informed her, somewhat smugly, he'd been invited to give at a prestigious independent bookstore. After that, it was invitations to bake and decorate cookies, go caroling, and look at lights, all of which Kate declined. The holidays were still difficult for her, even all these years later, and she had never felt particularly festive.

"If you start going around saying, 'I don't make myself merry at Christmas, and I cannot afford to make idle people merry', we're going to have a problem," Castle said somewhere around December 20th.

"I'm not a Scrooge," she protested.

"Then you're a Grinch," he replied. "Speaking of which, the Grinch is coming on tonight. Alexis and I always make popcorn and drink eggnog while we watch it. Interested?"

"No."

"See? Grinch."

She'd resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him, but barely. It wasn't until the eve of Christmas Eve that she figured out why she was so resistant to spending time with Castle at Christmas: she was envious. Not of Castle, but of Alexis. Despite his penchant for acting the fool, he was a good father, and he had established holiday traditions with his daughter, the same kind of traditions Kate missed keenly when she thought about her mother. Her own father wasn't the traditions type, and there was too much old damage there anyway; seeing Castle and Alexis reminded her of what she missed most, and it made the annual holiday ache that much stronger.

"I've got a large pizza with the works and a DVD of _Scrooge_," Castle said as he shrugged on his coat at the end of the day. "Come on, it's got catchy musical numbers! I might even sing along. How can you resist?"

"Tempting, but no." Kate buttoned up her coat and pulled on her knitted hat.

"Why not? Have you got other plans?" It was the first time Castle had pushed, and she glanced away uncomfortably.

"No, not really."

"Then dine with us tonight, Uncle Ebeneezer." Castle flashed a charming smile as if to take away any sting to his words. Abruptly, his expression turned somber, and he regarded her with a more shrewd gaze. "You shouldn't be alone at Christmas, not when you've got somewhere to go."

"Maybe I want to be alone," she retorted, rounding on him with growing irritation. "Did you ever think of that? Did you ever think how hard it might be for me to be with you and your family? I'm not one of you, Castle, and I don't want to spend Christmas being reminded that I'm an outsider." It was more candid than she'd meant to be, but it was late, she was tired, and Castle was adept at being a provocative pain in the ass. She looked away with a sigh and shook her head. "Go home and have a good time," she said wearily. "I'll be fine. I've got somewhere to go."

On Christmas Eve, she holed up in her apartment and spent the day wearing flannel pajamas and drinking hot chocolate that she spiked with Bailey's starting around six o'clock that evening. At seven o'clock, Castle showed up at her door.

"A-ha! I knew it! You lied," he exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at her. "You didn't have anywhere to go."

"Sure I did," she replied calmly. "Right here. What do you want this time, Castle?"

"Nothing. I've got something for you." He held up a bedraggled sprig of greenery over her head. "Mistletoe."

"You're crazy," she murmured as he leaned in, but she didn't back away.

"You said you weren't one of us, but you could be. All you have to do is say yes."

She didn't know whether to blame adding too much Bailey's to her hot chocolate or how mesmerizing his eyes were when he got so close, but whatever the reason, she said yes. He closed the distance between them, the mistletoe falling to the floor beside them as he slid his arms around her, and she kissed him with a hunger she'd forgotten she possessed. Gone was the immature buffoon, and in his place was a sensual man, one whose body was surprisingly firm beneath his overcoat and whose mouth tasted like candy canes. Kate buried her fingers in his hair and captured the minty sweetness on her tongue until she was thoroughly sated.

"Mmm..." Castle licked his lips and smirked when they drew back at last. "Chocolate."

She smiled slightly as she clasped her hands at the back of his neck. "Is the mistletoe all you've got for me?" she asked, arching one eyebrow.

"No, but you'll have to come back to my place for the rest." He looked a little sheepish as he added, "Mom and Alexis are expecting you."

"What, did you tell them you were going to drag me back by the hair?"

"You Tarzan, me Jane... No, wait..."

Her smile turned fondly exasperated as she gazed up at him. "So what is it tonight? Writing letters to Santa? Dinner with the Cratchits?"

"Spiked cider and _It's A Wonderful Life_, actually, along with a little present-shaking. There might be something under the tree for you," he added archly. "So what's it going to be? Still have somewhere else to go in your little PJs? Fetching though they are."

"No, I guess I can be one of you for one night," she replied.

"Only one?"

"With the option to extend the offer, I assume."

"Of course." He grinned, the little boy emerging once more. "Gooble gobble, one of us!"

"God help me," she said, unable to keep herself from smiling back at him, which was definitely the fault of the Bailey's.

"Too late now!" He let out an overblown evil laugh even as he nudged her back inside the apartment. "Don't worry about getting dressed up. Casual attire is fine, but not quite _this_ casual."

Kate's smile lingered as she headed into her bedroom to change clothes, amazed to find she was looking forward to Christmas for the first time in years. No doubt it would be noisy and crazy and - knowing Castle - annoying at times, but she knew she had found where she belonged at last.


End file.
